


Imprints

by AsagiStilinski



Series: YOI Spooky Week 2020 [9]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Alternate Universe - Nanny, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Character's Name Spelled as Viktor, Character's Name Spelled as Yuri, Ghosts, Haunted Houses, Katsuki Yuuri isn't a Figure Skater, M/M, Nanny Katsuki Yuuri, Parent Victor Nikiforov, Single Parent Victor Nikiforov, Single Parents, YOI Spooky Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:27:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27342739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: When Yuri signs on to be a nanny for an Olympic gold medalist, he figures his biggest concern is going to be his employer's difficult schedule and traveling, he never imagines it'll be the apparently haunted house that Viktor and his daughter occupy
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Series: YOI Spooky Week 2020 [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1985726
Comments: 3
Kudos: 50
Collections: Yuri!!! on Ice Spooky Week 2020





	Imprints

**Author's Note:**

> For day five of YOI Spooky Week- "ghost stories and spooky tales", and yes very inspired by The Haunting Of Bly Manor xD

"No it's fine, I.. I understand, thank you for the opportunity,"

Yuri took a deep breath, swallowing down his frustrations and anxieties as he hung up the phone

Another job lost, another opportunity gone...

He rubbed his face, leaning against the side of the building and squeezing his eyes shut

He couldn't afford to let this keep happening, he couldn't afford to just... _keep_ not having a job...

If he didn't get the one he was about to interveiw for, he was going to have to go into a different feild or something, he couldn't keep doing this...

He could feel his chest constricting, his breaths coming in and out of his lungs harder, more shallow, the anxiety building in his veins felt like a boa constrictor slowly squeezing the life out of him...

He forced the tears back, reaching into his backpack quickly and grabbing his water bottle and his pillbox, popping two of the little off-white capsules and quickly chasing them with the water before putting the bottle back in his bag and forcing himself to smile, stepping into the cafe` he was standing in front of and catching sight rather quickly of the man he was supposed to meet

It was hard to miss a guy in his twenties with silver hair, after all

"Ah, sorry if I'm a little late Mr. Nikiforov,"

"Oh nonsense, you're right on time, and please, call me Viktor,"

Yuri smiled anxiously, sliding into the booth across from his potential employer and taking a deep breath, reaching into his backpack and grabbing his files

"Um, it's nice to meet you Viktor,"

"Please Yuri, it's my pleasure," Viktor smiled back pleasantly, resting his head on his palm as Yuri set his file folder down between them

"H-Here are my references, and my credentials, and-"

"With all due respect, I already reveiwed all of this online, I called you for an interveiw so we could talk, not so I could read,"

Yuri wasn't quite sure what to do with that information, so he just nodded, expecting Viktor to lead the conversation

"Do you keep up with figure skating Yuri?" he asked as he leaned back, taking a sip of his coffee

"I'm afraid I don't, I'm really not much of a sports person,"

"Mm, good, it might've become a bit more difficult if you were in the circuit," Viktor mused, smiling up at the waitress as she arrived to take Yuri's order

"Um... just a caramel latte please,"

"Coming right up~" the waitress chirped, heading off and leaving the two alone again

"S-Sorry, you uh.. you were saying?"

Viktor seemed to regard him carefully for a moment, before sipping his coffee again and returning to the subject at hand

"I'm a figure skater, in fact I'm an Olympic gold medalist,"

... _Oh_

The look of shock and awe on Yuri's face must have been evident, as Viktor was soon shaking his head and waving his hand dismissively

"Don't get too excited, that's made all of this much harder for me than easier," he chuckled softly, catching the look of confusion on Yuri's face before continuing, reaching into his pocket and drawing out his wallet

"This is my daughter, Aria," he announced, sliding the photo across the table for Yuri to see

"She's beautifull," Yuri smiled back pleasantly, earning a hum of agreement from Viktor

"She's my entire universe, there's nothing in the world that could ever be more important to me, but... I am still a skater, and that's a very demanding job, that's why I need a full-time, live-in nanny.. or do you prefer the term 'governor'? Or _au pair_?"

"R-Really anything is fine, I'm not picky, just.. don't call me a professional babysitter or a manny," he teased awkwardly, though it pulled a soft laugh from Viktor, the skater's expression warm and sweet

"No, never, I truly have nothing but the greatest respect for you, to dedicate your life to children who aren't even your own... you're a saint, and a very special type of person to even want such a job,"

"Oh.. I'm really not-"

"I wish I could spend all of my time with Aria," Viktor interrupted, melancholy, staring down at the photo

"But I do have to work, and switching careers suddenly would probably bring more harm than good, plus although my job is demanding, I _do_ get to spend a decent amount of time with her, and I get to take her traveling with me sometimes, things are good.. I just need help, someone who's going to be available all the time, and who could even travel with us at times too, I hate leaving Aria at home when I go abroad for competitions but I can't bring her with me and leave her with my coach all the time either, not only is that very inconvenient as I need my coach with me at the actual competitions, but I think she's got too much energy for Yakov to keep up with," he noted with a soft, affectionate chuckle

"I understand," Yuri promised, his smile warm

"You love her very much... do you.. mind if I ask where her mother is in this picture? If you share custody I-"

"I don't," Viktor interrupted, startling Yuri a bit

That was... well, it wasn't like it was unheard of, single fathers who don't have an ex in the picture, but it was rarer than the reverse, that was for sure

"I'm afraid that Aria was... something of an accident," he confessed, carefully tucking the photo back in his wallet

"I've been to the Olympics three times now, on the second time, Aria was conceived, it was... well, have you ever heard the tales of the Olympic village?"

"Vaguely, my best freind is really into social media and he's mentioned it to me a few times,"

"Mm... well, it has the reputation it has for a reason," Viktor noted, smiling politely at the waitress as she delivered Yuri's coffee, waiting until she was out of earshot, and then continuing

"I was drunk, and riding high on my second Olympic gold medal, an accomplishment most athletes never even acheive at all, much less by the time they're of legal drinking age, and I had caught the eye of another skater, a silver medalist from South Korea, we hit it off, and after that night, we never really spoke again... not for three months, after wich she called me and insisted we speak in person, neither of us were interested in pursuing a relationship but I still cared for her so I flew out to meet her, that's when she told me she was pregnant.... so much for those Olympic condoms right? She.. initially didn't want to have the baby at all, and please don't get me wrong, that's her choice, I would never step on a woman's rights, but... but the baby was mine too, and I loved her the moment I knew she existed, the thought of not even seeing her... I was so devastated I broke down into tears right there, I begged her to let me try, let _us_ try, and reluctantly she agreed, though in truth I think she resented me for it, I think she still might.... anyway, it was difficult, for sure, those next six months, we came up with a story for the press and people around us about her training in Russia for the next year, so she could have the baby in peace, no one would know, she was afraid of being ostracized by her family and her fellow skaters if they knew, so... we kept the entire thing private, and we _tried_ , but... she never wanted a relationship, or a child, and it's not like I'm blameless, I've never actually been that interested in women, I've always considered myself gay, so that was a factor in play as well.. after a few months she decided she couldn't take it anymore and wanted her freedom back, so she granted me full custody and went back to Korea, and Aria and I have been alone ever since, the only other people who know this entire story are my coach and Mila, my former nanny, I've kept it secret from everyone else to protect both Aria and her mother, the press have made up stories for years trying to figure out the details of Aria's existence but I've never confirmed anything except that I'm her father, a few people have guessed what happened, but... like I said, I won't confirm it, I'd appreciate if you keep things quiet too,"

"Ofcourse," Yuri promised immediately, earning a slow nod from Viktor

"I love skating, it's always been part of me, before Aria it was my sole driving force in life, but... now, my daughter has replaced that, and make no mistake, if I had to choose, I would drop skating in less than a second for my little girl, my entire universe revolves around my baby, I expect anyone who's care I leave her in to take just as much care as I would,"

"You have my word," Yuri said firmly, his anxiety having shed away for the first time all morning, his expression serious and steadfast

"I would care for Aria as though she were my own, I promise,"

Viktor was quiet for a moment, before finally his serious expression gave way to one of warmth again

"Can you start Monday?"

~+~

"I'll be back before dinner as always, be good for Yuri ok?"

"I will!! I'll take good care of him, I promise!" Aria swore with seriousness, giving Viktor a hug

It didn't go unnoticed by Yuri that the way Viktor held onto her was like he was afraid to let go, as though the thought of parting from her physically pained him

It was actually rather sweet to see a parent still so attached when their child was clearly past the baby and toddler stage, and a father especially

"Ok, _dasvidanya_ , I'll see you soon my little lioness,"

Aria gave an exaggerated _"Rawr!"_ , amusing Viktor, before the skater reluctantly left the house

And what a house it was...

Yuri had been so certain when he arrived the day before that he was pulling up to some sort of villa or fancy bed and breakfast, the house was kind of huge, like something you'd see in a gothic horror movie, but.. no, it was just Viktor's

He claimed that he had inherited it from a distant relative, who passed away just a year prior and prompted himself and Aria to move away from their much smaller residence a few cities away

Yuri had so many questions, he hadn't had time to ask even half of them, but he hoped that sooner or later he would get the opportunity

"So Aria, what's your favorite thing to do?"

The little girl thought about that for a moment before her face lit up, eyes bright and excited

"Bake cookies!"

"Oh yeah? What kind of cookies?"

"Chocolate chip! And oatmeal raisin! And sugar! And ones with sprinkles and ones with peanut butter and-"

"That's... alot," Yuri laughed, gently taking her hand and pulling Aria to the kitchen, away from the lonely front door of the foyer

"Why don't we just start with _two_ kinds of cookies ok? And maybe when your dad gets home we can do another one?"

"Ok! I want chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin then," she announced, breaking away from Yuri's hand and running to the refrigerator

"Chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin it is then," Yuri agreed, following right behind her

"Do you usually make cookies from scratch or premade dough?"

Aria paused, looking up at him quizzically

Ah.. right... his last kid had been a little older, he had to remember to simplify things a bit more

"Um, do you make the dough yourself or does it come out of a can?"

"Oh! Mila made it herself, but Daddy gets it out of a can,"

"Mmm... then why don't we make our's and when your dad gets home, maybe we can make the kind out of the can with him?"

"Yes!!!"

Yuri hoped he wasn't promising too much of Viktor's time, he knew being a skater was grueling work, but he also seemed so eager to spend every waking moment with his daughter, Yuri doubted he would have any issue putting some premade cookies in the oven with her...

"What can I do? What can I do?" she asked excitedly, jumping up and down as Yuri started pulling the ingredients from the fridge

"Hm... why don't you get a big bowl for me ok?"

"Ok!!"

The sound of Aria's bare feet tapping against the tile floor echoed through the kitchen, pulling a chuckle out of Yuri as he finished gathering up ingredients and set them on the counter

"Do you make cookies often Aria?"

"Sometimes, sometimes we make other stuff like cupcakes and brownies and stuff! Mila even showed me how to make buckeyes!"

"Oh yeah? What are those?"

"They're chocolate balls with peanut butter on the inside and they're SOOOO good!!! Daddy LOVES them!!"

"Really? Maybe we can make some then, not today, but another time,"

"Yes!! And we can make medovik, and blinis, and sharlotka- wich is Daddy's favorite 'cause 'it's not so bad for his diet',"

"You'll have to teach me those I'm afraid, I don't know any Russian recipes," Yuri confessed with a laugh, thanking Aria as she presented him with the mixing bowl

"Huh? Why not? Aren't you Russian?"

"Hm? No... what gives you that idea?" Yuri asked curiously, grabbing a measuring cup from the rack hanging above him

"Your name is Yuri, that's Russian,"

"Oh... well, yes, it is, but it's not _just_ Russian, it's also Japanese- wich is what I am,"

"Really?" Aria asked in fascination, eyes wide

"Yeah, just like how Aria isn't just Italian, it's also Hebrew, Albanian, and Persian,"

Viktor had mentioned to him yesterday the story of Aria's name, that he and his ex had heard the name in passing one day and both fell in love with it

As it had seemingly been the only thing they ever agreed on, it had obviously been the name they went with

After hearing the story, he had been prompted to look up the name for himself, wich he was now rather glad he had done

"My name's Italian?" Aria asked in surprise, climbing into the chair next to Yuri

"Well, yeah, that's one of the languages it comes from,"

Uh-oh, had Viktor not wanted to tell her this story yet...?

"That's so cool! I wonder why Sara never told me..."

"Sara? Who's that?"

"My freind," Aria mused casually, but before Yuri could prompt her any further, she unclipped the bag of chocolate chips on the counter and dragged it towards her

"A-Ah, you don't want to eat one of those, they're bitter," Yuri warned quickly

"They're chocolate," Aria insisted with a pout

"No, they're _baking_ chocolate, that's different from the type of chocolate you eat uncooked, baking chocolate is bitter,"

Aria pouted, but atleast didn't question him further, she even let Yuri get one entire step more into the baking process before making the all too familiar hissing-gagging-hacking noise that promised she had not, in fact, minded his warning

"I warned you," Yuri chuckled, stepping away from the counter

He wasn't surprised though, kids always had to learn that lesson for themselves

"I'll get you some water, ok?"

"Uh-huh!!!"

Suppressing another laugh, Yuri moved towards the sink and grabbed a glass from the cabinet above him, pouring some water into it before moving back to the counter and handing it to Aria, who gulped the entire thing down in seconds

"More?" Yuri laughed, earning an eager nod from the little girl

"Ok, give that here,"

He took the glass again, turning back to the sink and gasping suddenly as he was met with a man's face in the window

He dropped the glass, startled, and took a step back

The face in the window was.... there was just something _wrong_ with it.... something haunting and _sinister_...

"Yuri? What's wrong?" Aria frowned, getting her caretaker's attention as he turned to look at her, immediately scooping her up into his arms, just in case, and holding her close, but when he turned back to the window, the man was gone

"...Yuri...?"

"..Sorry sweetie, I... I guess I just imagined something... will you do me a favor please? Wait over there by the pantry ok? I have to clean up this glass,"

Yuri exhaled as he set her down, blinking a few times just in case

Weird... he didn't usually just imagine things like that...

Ofcourse he hadn't slept well the night before though, that had to be the explanation by such a strange encounter

...It _had_ to be....

~+~

"Ok, it's about time for your nap, don't you think?"

"Awwww... but I'm not tired...."

Even though Aria said that, she was rubbing her eyes and laying on the floor, having already dozed off three times in the last five minutes- and that's just what Yuri had been able to _catch_

"Mm I know, but I promised your dad," Yuri smiled back, bending down to gently pick up the little girl from where she had been laying on the floor a moment previous, her crayons and coloring book laid out and forgotten

She mumbled something as she rested her head on Yuri's shoulder, clinging onto him a little bit tighter

"Nap with me?" she mumbled a bit more clearly

"Hm? Ah... no, I think you'd get better sleep on your own, besides, I have to wash the dishes-"

"But I can't sleep on my own! I always sleep with Daddy or Mila!" she insisted, suddenly far more awake than she had been moments before

"Why can't you sleep on your own?" Yuri frowned with concern as Aria pulled back, a very serious look on her face for being so young

She paused for a minute, before leaning closer and wispering into his ear

"Because the mouse man will get me,"

"The.... mouse man...?"

Aria nodded hurriedly, her expression not lightening at all or giving any indication that she was remotely joking

"He's a mean man who's mad all the time, Sara's scared of him, and so am I,"

Yuri didn't understand- obviously- but he knew better than to discredit what a child was saying just because he didn't understand it

Children and adults didn't have the same vocabulary, so children were forced to create their own language for things they didn't yet understand or have the words to describe, and wile sometimes these were innocuous little fantasies or nightmares, there were just as many times when they were something completely serious that were ignored just because adults didn't bother trying to understand...

Yuri knew better

He wasn't going to be one of those people who let children get hurt just because he couldn't understand them

"Ok," he decided after a moment

"I'll nap with you,"

"Yay!!"

Aria hugged him tightly, a small smile on his face as he carried her upstairs

He wasn't sure what was upsetting her, but it was much better safe than sorry

~+~

Wile Aria slept, Yuri googled "mouse man", just in case this was some sort of creepypasta or something she had gotten ahold of without her father's knowledge, but the only results that came up were for a furniture crafter and a very old, very obscure, very non-scary Wonder Woman villain

Somehow he doubted she had heard of either of them

Was he just an imaginary freind then? Or maybe her nickname for someone? She had mentioned her freind Sara before, was he associated with her somehow? Maybe her freind's brother or father?

Yuri found himself hoping against hope that Mouse Man was imaginary, because the way Aria described him was... frightening... and if he _was_ real......

Yuri shook his head and held Aria close as she slept on his chest, putting his phone down for a breif moment

Surely he was just imaginary.....

Surely....

~+~

"So how was your first day?"

"Fantastic, she really is a marvelous little girl,"

"She is, isn't she?" Viktor smiled proudly, rounding into the kitchen and settling in one of the chairs

He had just put Aria to bed, leaving himself and Yuri as the only waking creatures in the house- well, other than Makkachin, Viktor's dog

"Yes, and she has such a big imagination,"

"Oh really?"

"Mm, she uh.... she has this idea of a _mouse man_.... has she talked to you about it?"

Viktor's chipper mood faded at that, his expression dulling into something considerably more serious as he nodded, leaning back in his chair

"I'm afraid so," he said with a soft sigh, lips ticking up a little as Yuri handed him a cup of coffee- decaf, but still

"I don't know what to make of it honestly, she had never talked about anything like that when we still lived at Fox Creek, but... since moving here.... at first I thought it was just a normal imaginary freind, like Sara, but.... then this... _Mouse Man_... started to turn wicked, it became something much more sinister, my best freind is a psychology major so I asked what he thought about it and he said that it was probably anxiety related to the move, but a year later she's still talking about this thing, and it's only getting more and more sinister in the way she says it behaves, at first it was something of a convenient patsy, she'd get in trouble for nocking something over or for painting on the walls and blame it on Mouse Man, Chris said that was very normal for children, but then it started escalating, this... _thing_ started to become an outright bully, she would lose her things and claim the Mouse Man took them or trip and fall down and claim she was pushed, then she started telling me about how the Mouse Man was mean to Sara, and she started becoming afraid to sleep alone, it even started affecting Mila before she left, but... since Mila took off, and it's been just us, things have calmed down, she's still afraid of it enough that she insists on sleeping with me, but alot of the tormenting has calmed down,"

Yuri was quiet for a moment, honestly dumbfounded

Yes, he had only known her for a day, but she just seemed like such a sweet girl, there didn't seem to be a mischievous bone in her body...

"Viktor... are you _sure_ that this mouse man is imaginary...?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Well it's just... I _really_ don't want to alarm you but.... when we were baking earlier... I could have sworn I saw a man outside the kitchen window..."

Viktor was on his feet in seconds, his expression frantic and pale

"What man? What did he look like?"

"I-I don't know... tall? Dark hair? I didn't get a good look, it happened to suddenly and too fast... I'm sorry... maybe it's nothing, maybe it was just a neighbor-"

"We don't have any neighbors, Rose House is very isolated, the next occupied residence isn't for miles and it's occupied by two women,"

Oh... shit...

"I'm staying home tommorrow,"

"What? No-"

"If anyone comes around here again they're going to learn that figure skaters can do more than just look pretty-"

"Viktor listen to me," Yuri said hurriedly, moving to gently take Viktor's hands in his own

"I know we haven't known eachother long and this is still a very new job, but I promise you, I would not let any harm come to Aria ok? You don't have to stay home, I can take care of it, if something happens again- even something incredibly minor- I'll call the police-"

"The police are twenty minutes away at best! Dammit, I should have known not to move into this place, damn Anya..."

"Viktor I promise, I _promise_ , I can take care of this myself, alright? I just... I wasn't... prepared for it the first time, I actually thought I imagined it... but now that I know, I'll make sure I handle it better next time,"

Viktor didn't seem entirely convinced, but after a few moments, he finally sighed, his shoulders sagging and his head hanging

".....Alright... alright, but... but I swear to God Yuri... if _anything_ happens, so much as finding a spider in the hallway... call me,"

"I will," Yuri swore

"I promise, I will,"

~+~

_"You can't blame yourself,"_

_Yuri looked up slowly, his expression pale and exhausted as he stared at his sister_

_"Can't I?"_

_Mari's face was contorted with greif and sympathy, and Yuri's heart ached over the fact that he was causing her to look like that_

_"I'm sorry," he said after a beat, sighing and rubbing his face miserably_

_"I'm sorry... I-"_

_"Don't apologize, this isn't your fault,"_

_Yuri exhaled loudly, taking a step towards the grave and staring down at the casket that had been lowered into the ground_

_"If it isn't my fault, then why do I feel so guilty?"_

_He felt a hand rest on his shoulder, and when he turned to face his sister, he was suddenly met with the face of a rotting corpse instead, a skeletal hand resting on his shoulder as the corpse opened it's mouth, spiders suddenly pouring out like sand_

_Yuri screamed bloody murder, and the next thing he knew-_

"YURI!!"

Yuri gasped awake, jerking upwards, a hand on his chest as he trembled from panic, searching the room absently as his name was called again and again, finally turning his attention to the man sitting in front of him on the edge of his bed, Viktor's face was panicked, his grip on Yuri's shoulder was firm and comforting, and Makkachin sat on the floor in front of them, wimpering softly with concern

"...Sorry," he wispered, sniffling a little

"I-I'm sorry... I just-"

"Don't worry," Viktor instructed quickly

"I mean... please don't feel bad, you have nothing to apologize for,"

"I woke you up," Yuri croaked, rubbing at his eyes

"...Oh god.. I didn't wake Aria did I?"

"No no, you weren't _that_ loud, I'm just a very light sleeper, comes with parenthood, and I don't mind being woken up, like I said, it comes with parenthood," Viktor insisted, smiling softly as he squeezed Yuri's shoulder and earning a soft, weak smile from him as well

"Well um.. thank you for waking me..."

"Ofcourse, that sounds like a terrible nightmare you were having,"

"..Yeah... it was..."

Viktor was quiet for a moment, slowly drawing his hand back before moving it to slide into Yuri's instead

"I... can't imagine that you would want to go back to bed right away.... and to be perfectly honest, I haven't been sleeping well myself, so... if you'd perhaps like to have some hot chocolate and stay up a little wile, just until the monsters seem to go back under the bed..."

"I would like that," Yuri smiled a little more certainly, reaching for his glasses and pulling them from the nightstand

"Excellent, I happen to make a _mean_ hot chocolate," Viktor teased with a wink, pulling a soft laugh from the other man, only for the slightly bettering mood to turn sour once again, the sound of Aria screaming down the hall startling both of them out of their places, neither saying another word as they rushed out of Yuri's room and towards Viktor's

"ARIA?!!"

"Aria!?"

Makkachin was barking at their heels, the little girl's screams echoing throughout the house as they finally skidded into the room, Viktor practically leaping across the bed to pull her into his arms and rub her back

"Aria, darling, what's wrong? What's the matter?!"

"I-I.... it was... the mouse man!!" Aria wimpered, hugging her father for dear life as she choked out little sobs and wimpers of fear

"He was gonna take me!!! H-He... he... he was gonna.. take me to.. take me to the cold place!!"

"Cold place?" Viktor breathed, pulling back and gently tilting Aria's head up, but if he was trying to get any clarity from her, it wouldn't do him much good, she was too distraught, and neither could get anything else coherent out of her for the rest of the night, the child passing out the moment she was calm enough to do so

~+~

Viktor hadn't gone to practice the next morning, he just couldn't, not with things the way they were, not with Aria having been so upset the night before

Yuri had spent the day doing his best to cheer them both up, wich seemed to be working, atleast for Aria

"There's a big tarp in the cellar, could you get it Yuri?" Viktor asked as he worked to move the kitchen table out of the way

"Ofcourse, I'll be right back,"

Painting seemed to be another shared hobby of Viktor and his daughter, though if Yuri had to guess, he was willing to say that _finger_ painting was just for Aria

Ofcourse having witnessed Viktor shove himself into a tutu earlier that day for an impromptu tea party, he had the feeling that Viktor wouldn't be opposed to doing the same if he were prompted

With a soft chuckle to himself, he made his way down the cellar stairs, the basement lit by a few hanging light-bulbs, clearly not finished out, metal shelves lined the walls with everything from some spare emergency gear like flashlights and bottled water to some unpacked boxes, and on the shelf in the back there was a large beige tarp, already splattered and stained with various paints, glitters, and other crafting essentials

That was Yuri's target

He made his way over to it, carefully pulling it off of the shelf and tilting his head in surprise at how heavy it was

It felt like there were bricks rolled up inside of it...

But he paid it no mind, dragging it off of the shelf all the same and turning to start back up the stairs, only to be met once more with the face of the man from yesterday- and this time, he got a much better look

His skin was light tawny brown, hair only a shade or so darker than that, his eyes a vivid violet and his lips curled up into a sneer

When Yuri screamed, he dropped the tarp, backing away and watching in horror as the fabric unrolled at his feet, a corpse revealing it's self to the young nanny

He screamed louder and louder, something that was only silenced when the man pushed him against the wall, a hand over his mouth, trying to shush him

"YURI!?!"

"Viktor!!!" Yuri shouted back, struggling away from the man and turning his attention to the stairs as the sound of Viktor's hurried footsteps echoed through the cellar

"Viktor he's down here! There's a body! There-..."

The problem was, when Yuri looked back over his shoulder, he found with sinking dread that nothing was there

No body, no person, just an empty tarp laying on the floor

"Yuri..?"

Swallowing, the nanny stared back up at Viktor, tears of frustration and panic glossing over his eyes

"I'm not crazy..." he breathed, teeth digging into his lip as the tears started to tumble down his cheeks

"I'm not crazy! They were right here! They... they...."

Viktor was quiet, wrapping his arms around Yuri and gently rubbing his back

Yuri would have resisted on any other occasion, not wanting the sympathy, not wanting to be pitied, but in this case, he didn't have the emotional strength for it, he just wrapped his arms around Viktor and held him as tightly as possible

~+~

"When you started calling for me he let go, I thought I had struggled away but I guess he disappeared... I know this sounds insane but I swear, I _swear_ it really happened, and I'm not crazy..."

"It's ok, I believe you," Viktor promised softly, gently setting a mug of hot chocolate down in front of Yuri

"Tell me, has Aria ever told you much about her Mouse Man?"

"No... no, not anything more than the name..."

"That's interesting, because the man you describe matches her description perfectly,"

Yuri's head ticked up, a surprised look on his face as Viktor sat down across from him

"I always thought that the Mouse Man was just a figment of her imagination, but if you're seeing the same person then I've clearly been wrong,"

"But... but if it is just... some creepy guy then how did he vanish like that? And what about the body? How did he take that with him if-?"

"I never said it was a person," Viktor interrupted, taking Yuri off guard

"To be clear, I never said it was a _living_ person,"

Yuri went quiet for a few moments, his shoulders sinking a bit

"....Ghosts?"

"It wouldn't be the strangest thing I've ever heard," Viktor sighed, leaning back in his chair and sipping his coffee

"I do admit that some strange things have happened in this house, nothing I ever attributed to the supernatural specifically, but certainly things that have left me scratching my head from time to time, noises at night, objects going missing, seeing figures out of the corner of my eye, I've just never put two and two together until now, but.... damn Anya, I wish she'd told me,"

"...If that's the case... then what do we do?" Yuri asked slowly, pursing his lips, earning a quiet hum of contemplation from the other man

"Cleanse the house? I can't say that I'm entirely sure either, spiritual things aren't really my strong suit,"

"Mine neither," Yuri confessed, his fingers drawing little patterns and designs over the surface of the mug

"I... worry though.... about Aria staying here if it is haunted, the 'Mouse Man' isn't exactly benevolent I take it, and if she's been seeing him so often..."

"Right, no, I agree," Viktor nodded, leaning back in his seat

"We could always just go to a hotel for a few nights, but long-term I'm not sure what to do, especially as the Grand Prix season is starting next week and I have to be in Vegas by next Friday, I don't know if we can do anything substantial before then, and over a week in a hotel seems excessive,"

"You.... could stay at my place... for a week," Yuri said slowly, wringing his hands

"I um... my lease doesn't end until the 25th, so... I mean uh... I've cleared the place out, and it's a one bedroom, but-"

"That would be wonderfull, thank you Yuri,"

Yuri nodded, but he didn't seem nearly as enthusiastic

Rather, he just sipped on his hot chocolate, mind wandering elsewhere, and hoping that he wasn't making a terrible mistake

~+~

"It'll be like an adventure," Viktor noted as he zipped Aria's suitcase shut

"That's what you said last time, and I don't like this adventure," Aria pouted, hugging her favorite teddy bear closer

Sympathetic, Viktor turned and gently settled his hands on his daughter's shoulders, a smile forced against his lips

"I know, but we're going to fix this, ok? I know this adventure hasn't been very fun... the Mouse Man is scary, right? Well we're going to get rid of him, and we're going to make this place our home, a _good_ home, a happy home, you trust me, right my little lioness?"

Reluctant, Aria finally nodded, earning a relieved smile from her father as Viktor leaned in closer and gave her a tight hug, squeezing gently before rising to his feet, helping Aria put her backpack on and taking her little pink and purple suitcase for her, his duffle bag already slung over his shoulder and his free hand extending to his daughter, who took it eagerly

"We'll be back in no time, and until then, I'm sure you'll really like Yuri's apartment," he noted, smiling with a bit of releif himself as they stepped into the hall to find Yuri already waiting for them, his bag packed and Makkachin on her leash

"I called the super and explained, she'll let us in and give my key back when we get there,"

"Ah, thank goodness," Viktor sighed, following Yuri down the hall and towards the stairs

"Why couldn't we stay in a hotel again? Hotels have pools,"

"That hardly matters, it's too cold for you to go swimming," Viktor pointed out, patiently helping Aria down the stairs

"They have room service," she noted

"I can be your room service," Yuri offered as he rounded towards the front door

"Really?!"

"Sure, you just tell me what you want and I'll find a way to get it for you,"

"And Yakov thinks _I_ spoil her too much," Viktor laughed, shaking his head

He was happy for it though, Viktor knew he could be a little excessive and he was criticized for it by not only Yakov, but occasionally by other parents too

Actually, Viktor was criticized for alot of things, from raising her on his own to spoiling her to making her life "unstable" by traveling so much, among other things....

It was nice to see someone else taking up the mantle of spoiling her though, it showed him that he wasn't so alone in that area after all

"I'm the nanny, I'm allowed to,"

"Oh is that what you've been told?" Viktor laughed, arriving at the bottom of the stairs just as Yuri opened the front door

Unfortunately though, the jovial mood was soon vanquished, for as soon as Yuri opened the door, a massive gust of wind blew through it and nocked him backwards, a screeching, howling sound following after

"YURI!!"

Viktor ran towards him, leaving Aria at the bottom of the stairs, but just as he approached, the doors slammed shut, Makkachin barking wildly at the large double doors as Viktor fell to the floor and helped Yuri to sit up

"Are you alright Yuri!?"

"I-I'm fine... don't worry about it..."

"That's the thing about parenting, you never stop worrying," Viktor huffed, earning a weak grin from Yuri

"You and I have that in common then,"

Viktor smiled back, strained, and stood, helping Yuri to his feet as well

"I guess this means they don't want us leaving," Yuri sighed

"But I've been leaving almost every day with no problem until now!"

"Yeah, on your own and intending to come back," Yuri pointed out, wich caused Viktor's shoulders to sag

"So... what do we do now?"

"I don't know yet," Yuri sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and staring up at the doors

"I'll call my parents, maybe they'll know something,"

It was a long shot, but his parents were alot more spiritually inclined than he was, so maybe, just _maybe_...

~+~

_"Oh God... oh God... why did I...? What have I done...? What have I done...?"_

_Blood everywhere..._

_Blood on his hands, on his clothes, even though he was slowly being overtaken by the water, all he could see was blood..._

"Yuri?"

Gasping, Yuri jerked his head up, blinking a few times and staring up at Viktor, his breathing loud and labored

"Yuri... you fell asleep,"

"O-Oh... um.... sorry..." Yuri mumbled, rubbing his face tiredly and staring down at his internet browser

His parents hadn't been alot of help, as he anticipated, but he hadn't wanted to leave Viktor hanging, so he started researching, he hadn't even realized how much time he was spending on it, but...

"When did it get so late...?"

"A few hours ago," Viktor chuckled, settling into the chair next to Yuri's

"I'm so sorry..."

"It's fine, it's fine, you clearly needed the rest if you slept so much, especially having just passed out like that,"

"But still-"

"No buts, I'm right," Viktor insisted, playfully tapping Yuri's nose

This forced another weak smile onto his face, but it was unconvincing at best

"Have there been any more incidents?"

"Mm, no, I've been talking to Aria more about this Mouse Man of her's though, and about her freind, Sara, who I always thought was an imaginary freind, but apparently...."

"Right," Yuri nodded slowly

"Find anything interesting?"

"Somewhat, the two of them have similar appearances, wich I'm surprised by, but they both have violet eyes and tan skin, Sara's hair is black but the Mouse Man's is brown, it's surprising, I was expecting them to look rather different, going on the assumption that they're ghosts, I was pinning them as lovers, but they sound more like siblings, I mean... violet eyes... that's a weird detail isn't it? How many people have violet eyes?"

"Not many, it's pretty hotly debated on if violet eyes are even real,"

"But the man you saw, his eyes were definitely violet right?"

"Definitely," Yuri agreed with a nod

"So having two people like that in one place... it.. sounds like siblings, doesn't it?"

"Yeah... probably,"

"I'm wondering something, this house is very old, do you think we could find out who the past owners have been? Siblings who died in the same house together... that's probably news worthy wouldn't you think?"

"I'd classify that as a hard 'maybe', but it's definitely worth researching,"

"Then that's what we'll do! If horror movies have taught me anything, it's that you won't really know how to handle spirits unless you know who they were in life,"

Yuri chuckled softly, opening a new tab in his browser and starting to type the address of Viktor's house into the search bar

"So.... what were you dreaming about? You seemed to be kind of distressed, you were mumbling in your sleep,"

"O-Oh... I.. was?"

"Mm-hm, you don't have to tell me but if you want to talk about it.... well, I'm here,"

"Thank you," Yuri said softly, his fingers hovering above the keyboard for a moment, before finally moving down to make contact

"So.... are you going to tell me?" Viktor asked after a beat

Somehow, Yuri should have seen that coming

"I have.... nightmares sometimes, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it before but I just... well I thought I could keep it to myself..."

"And these nightmares... they're pretty bad hm?"

"Yeah, well.... they're more like... _memories_... sometimes, so..."

"...Memories?" Viktor asked in a near wisper

"What.. memories could be so bad.. that they illicit terror like that?"

Yuri shifted a little, his eyes averted as he scrolled almost absently across the screen

"...Before I moved here.... my last real job, I... was a nanny in Japan, I took care of two kids, two _great_ kids, I loved them dearly... but their parents had issues, their mom was mostly absent and their dad was a drunk, I took care of them even more than you hired me to take care of Aria, but I did have off days here and there, one of those days I spent with a freind at her bachelorette party, the kids were supposed to be at a slumber party all night, but right after the party started, I got a call from the little girl asking me to come and pick them up, I had been drinking so I didn't think it was a good idea, I wasn't drunk.. I wasn't even tipsy... I think I just wanted to keep my night off, so I called her mother for her instead,"

Yuri paused, taking in a deep, sharp breath, trying to keep the tears at bay

"I found out the next morning that their mother had no intention of picking them up, instead she sent their father after them and... and he drove them into a river..."

"Oh my god Yuri..."

"It was my fault-"

"Yuri, no-"

"I may not have been driving but I'm the one who killed them, if I had just gone to pick them up myself they'd still be alive, if I hadn't been so selfish-"

"Stop that, you'd been drinking too yes? So it would have been dangerous for you as well, you may have-"

"I wasn't drunk," Yuri protested

"I wasn't, he was, I'm not saying I would have been _safe_ but..... safer than _that_.... I couldn't take another job in Japan after that, I couldn't stop thinking about them... so I moved here, hoping for a fresh start, it was the push I needed to make a move I'd been considering since I was a teenager, ever since I've had small nannying jobs but none with a commitment that big, not until Aria,"

"Yuri listen to me," Viktor insisted, gently but firmly taking Yuri's hands

"That wasn't your fault, I know that you've probably been told this a million times by now but it _wasn't_ , you couldn't have known, and you did the right thing by not driving drunk with them, or at all, please don't blame yourself Yuri, please,"

Yuri bit his lip, clearing his throat a little and turning back to the screen

"The Crispino twins," he blurted out suddenly, catching Viktor off guard

"Um.... what?"

"The owners of the house who were siblings? The Crispino twins, they owned this place about thirty years ago, Michele and Sara, their bodies were found in the cellar, it was a murder-suicide, according to the article, Michele shot his sister and then shot himself.... but it doesn't say why,"

"Did you.... say _Sara_...? ...That's-"

"Aria's freind," Yuri concluded quietly

"So Sara is a ghost and her twin brother Michele is this 'Mouse Man', interesting," Viktor mused, tapping his chin

But he didn't get any further than that

"It seems like their bodies were discovered though, meaning that it's unlikely there are any bones for us to find and have ritualistically burried," Yuri noted with a frown

"But spirits can cling to other things right?"

"Sure, any object that was important to them in life or associated with their death could potentially house spirits,"

"Thought so, then we just have to find out what their spirits are attached to and cleanse it somehow,"

Viktor said it so simply, but that was alot easier said than done, especially in a house this huge

"It could be anything," Yuri sighed, dragging his fingers through his hair

"It could be anything from a peice of furniture to a peice of jewlry to.... a single cup that just happened to be left in the cabinet, how are we supposed to figure it out?"

"Logical reasoning, this house is large yes, but I'm sure we can find some indicators to point us in the right direction, you said they died thirty years ago right? So that would be the nineties, we could potentially find some information about them out online,"

Viktor wasn't wrong, but the very prospect still sounded exhausting...

"We could also date the furniture and antiques, find out what was produced after the year they died and rule things out like that,"

Now why did that sound like a process that would take days or possibly even _weeks_?

"And we could start in the basement, that's where they died, so there might be an important object down there like a lost earring or even a body part like a fingernail,"

Viktor leaned back a little, rubbing his face tiredly

"Yuri.... as much as I understand the necessity of being thorough... this sounds like alot, alot of time, alot of effort, and I can't leave my daughter in this house for days or weeks on end, especially if Michele has already been appearing to her,"

"I understand," Yuri promised quietly

"I'll stay here then, you and Aria go, go stay at a hotel or something until-"

"Oh no, I am _not_ leaving you here alone, we're getting out of here Yuri, _both_ of us,"

"Eventually? Yes, but who knows how long that'll take? You're right, Viktor, we can't subject Aria to this any longer than necessary,"

Viktor went quiet for a moment after that, sighing heavily and pinching the bridge of his nose

"Dammit..... _dammit_..... I'm going to-..... I'll call my coach, he can take care of Aria for a few days,"

"What will you tell him?"

"Just that there's an emergency and I'll explain later,"

After all, Yakov was a logical man, he didn't believe in the supernatural, if Viktor told him the truth...

Well, that probably wouldn't end well

He just hoped that "not ending well" wouldn't be the running theme for this ordeal...

~+~

"Now remember what I said, be good, listen to Yakov, and don't take it personally that he yells alot,"

"I don't want to go with Yakov!! I wanna stay here with you and Yuri!" Aria protested, wrapping her arms tightly around Viktor's neck, refusing to let go

"I know sweetheart, I know, but-"

"Please? Pleaaaaaaase let me stay? I'll be good I promise, I won't talk about the Mouse Man anymore, I-"

"Aria, darling, Yakov is already here and waiting for you, please go with him ok? This won't be for long, I promise, just a few days,"

Aria looked like her entire world was being torn away from her, she had always been quite attached to her father, and to her nannies- though, none quite as quickly as she had become attached to Yuri- and clearly wasn't pleased with the idea of leaving either of them, especially given the perceived dangers of the house

She looked up at Yuri, who gave her a warm, reassuring smile, and bent down so that they were at eye-level with eachother

"It's going to be ok, I promise, your dad and I just need to take care of a few things here, but it won't take long and then you'll come home and we'll all have katsudon for dinner, ok?"

"...Katsudon?" Aria asked after a moment

"Yeah, it's my favorite food, I make it pretty well, although not as well as my mom does... do you want to try it?"

Without hesitation, Aria gave a quick, eager nod, bringing a pleased smile to Yuri's lips

"Ok, so then you stay with Yakov until Daddy comes to get you, and when you get back, I'll make as much katsudon as you want, alright?"

With another nod, Aria gave Yuri a quick, tight hug, and reluctantly pulled away, still looking more than a little displeased as Viktor opened the door for her, taking her hand and guiding her outside

He had every intention of coming back, he assumed that was the only reason the house let him leave to begin with

"Vitya, what's this emergency of your's?" Yakov frowned the moment he was near enough for Viktor to hear him

"Like I said Yakov, I'll explain later,"

"If you're in some sort of trouble-"

"No it's nothing like that, I promise," he said quickly, bending down to give Aria one more hug and a kiss on the head

"Soon, baby, I promise,"

Aria only nodded, reluctantly letting go of her father and taking Yakov's hand

Before his coach had time to question him any further, Viktor turned away and headed back to the house, the door closing loudly behind him without Viktor ever even touching it

"Is she ok?" Yuri asked worriedly, wringing his hands anxiously in front of him

"I think so, she's just sad, she never has liked being away from me,"

"Understandable," Yuri said with a sigh, although it was a relieved one

"You're really incredible with her you know," Viktor noted out of the blue, easily catching Yuri's attention

"Y-You think so?"

"Yeah, even Mila had a hard time getting her through times of being away from me with any ease, but you... well, clearly you're something special,"

Face red, Yuri shifted, giving a small shrug

"I don't know about that..."

"I do, you're amazing Yuri, never doubt that,"

Viktor couldn't help but smirk a bit as Yuri's face turned redder, he was more than a little charmed by the nanny's shyness

"S-So um.... shall we get to work?"

"Yes," Viktor nodded, gently taking Yuri's hand

"I think so,"

~+~

"We might have to tear the floor out,"

Eyebrows raised, Viktor glanced over his shoulder at Yuri, he wished he could say that he was surprised by this question, but after the last few days, he was pretty sure a shark could leap out of the wall and he wouldn't be surprised by it at this point

"You think so?" he asked with a sigh, staring down in displeasure at the small pile of objects they had accumulated from the basement

It wasn't much, the cellar had been almost entirely cleaned out with the exception of the shelving unit, the painting tarp, and a few stray home repair objects like a hammer, a screwdriver, and a few stray paint brushes

"Maybe, I was really expecting to find something down here.... I guess we'd better start cataloguing the furniture,"

"Should we really?" Viktor frowned, staring down at the tarp full of tools

..Well, maybe "Full" was an overstatement

"I mean, how are we sure that none of this is what we're looking for?"

"I... guess that's a good point, I don't know, I just thought that if we touched what was trapping the spirits here then they would appear to us... maybe I'm wrong though..."

"Maybe we should salt and burn all of this then, just in case?"

"Good idea," Yuri nodded in agreement

True, they didn't even know for sure if salting and burning would work, but it wasn't really like they could consult an expert- where would they even begin?- so it was the best solution either of them could come up with, atleast for now

With that agreement in place, Viktor grabbed a bottle of lighter fluid and a large metal trash can from their places, and Yuri started to gather the tools

"We should take this outside," Yuri suggested, receiving a nod in response from his partner, he just hoped the neighbors wouldn't call the cops when the smell of smoke filled the air...

But then again, Viktor's nearest neighbors were actually quite far away, so that may not be such a problem

The two hurried upstairs and outside to the backyard, and Yuri watched with dissatisfaction as the tools burned effortlessly, doused in lighter fluid and lit aflame with the kitchen lighter

There was nothing to come of them, no sparks or ghastly smog, no voices or hands reaching out, nothing remotely creepy or ghost-like

Yuri wasn't really _surprised_ , but he was still annoyed

He had hoped that it could be easier than this

"You don't think we should burn the shelving unit too do you?"

"No," Yuri sighed

That would be useless really, they couldn't safely set an entire metal unit on fire after all

"But I'll get the tarp just to be safe,"

Viktor nodded, a ping from his phone going off and pulling his attention away from the task at hand as Yuri went back to the house

But that was when something strange happened- something that was terrifying and yet oddly releiving at the same time

The kitchen door that Yuri had been heading to suddenly slammed shut, nearly nocking the nanny backwards from surprise

Mouth opening slightly, he reached out for the handle, only to gasp as a spirit appeared before him

 _"You will not take Sara from me!!!"_ the spirit- who Yuri recognized easily as Michele- roared, wrapping his hands around Yuri's throat and squeezing

But it didn't feel like he was being choked, there was no physical pressure on his throat, rather, it felt as though the air was being _pulled_ out of his lungs, as though it were being energetically sucked away, as though a vacuum were sucking the oxygen right out of him

"Leave him alone!!" Viktor shouted, racing towards the phantom, who released Yuri just long enough to push Viktor out of the way, the skater nearly flying across the yard and crashing into the fiery canister

"VIKTOR!!"

Yuri no more got to his feet before the hands were on him again, but this time he wasn't being choked, he was being _dragged_

Yuri screamed as he was lifted nearly entirely off of the ground, only his feet staying firmly planted in place, but even that didn't last long, in only moments Yuri was kicking and screaming, the spirit dragging him across the grassy landscape, towards the pond on the far end of the yard

"YURI!!!" Viktor shouted from across the yard as he scrambled to his feet, hurrying after Yuri, but he wasn't fast enough, before he could reach them, Yuri's head was being shoved underwater, an immense pressure settling over his chest and throat, making it impossible for him to move

Viktor shouted again and again, racing towards him, but to no avail

Yuri's eyes were stinging, his chest was burning, and no amount of fighting or struggling seemed to be helping him

_"STOP IT MICKEY!!"_

All of a sudden, the pressure was gone and Yuri could fight to the surface, gasping and choking on the water, his entire form shaking like a leaf as he struggled to his feet, hurrying to Viktor's side

_"Sara, why-"_

_"I won't be trapped here with you anymore!"_

"Are you ok?" Viktor breathed, gently tilting Yuri's head up in an effort to inspect him for damage

"I'm fine," he mumbled with a cough, blinking his weary eyes as he stared at the two spirits, an immense sensation of surrealism weighing over him, unable to believe his eyes

_"Then... are you saying you-?"_

_"Yes Mickey, I trapped them, so that they could burn that damn tarp and set me free!"_

"Mickey... Mouse Man..." Yuri muttered quietly

That was why Aria had been calling him that, she couldn't remember his name past _Mickey Mouse_...

"It's the tarp," Viktor urged, catching Yuri's attention again

"Hurry and get it, I'll rebuild the fire,"

Yuri nodded, rushing back to the house as the spirits continued to fight

He was reluctant to leave Viktor there alone with them, but what choice did he really have? If he kept waiting then they would both be done for

He raced into the house, hurrying to get the tarp from the cellar, but before he could get back up the stairs, Michele appeared before him again, evidently having won his fight with Sara, atleast temporarily, by whatever means that apparently called for

 _"You won't take Sara from me,"_ he insisted again, his voice little more than a low growl as he pushed Yuri backwards

The nanny screamed, tumbling down the stairs and wincing at the sickening _*crack*_ of his head against the concrete floor

His vision was blurry, he couldn't really focus on anything, and sleep was trying to beckon him, but.... _but_...

He thought breifly of Aria and Viktor, and forced himself back to his feet, stumbling and groaning, only for Michele to be before him again, hands around his throat a second time as he was slammed into the wall behind him

 _"DIE!!"_ the spirit howled, and Yuri had to admit it was tempting, but... Aria and Viktor... they needed him, or atleast they needed him to destroy the tarp, they couldn't just continue to live in this chaos

He choked, and his vision was going black, but he reached out anyway, desperate to get to the tarp, to get it to Viktor, to burn it...

"Hey asshole,"

That was enough for Michele to turn, Yuri watching blurrily as Viktor held the tarp up for them to see, then immediately set it ablaze with his lighter

"NO!!!" Michele shouted, dropping Yuri in a heartbeat and racing towards the flames

As he vanished, Viktor dropped the tarp, screaming for Yuri as he rushed forward and caught the brunette in his arms

Yuri gave a small, weak smile at that, relieved as he watched the tarp burn on the ground below, and finally allowed himself to close his eyes

~+~

"Oh Yuri, thank goodness!"

Blinking slowly, Yuri smiled weakly up at Viktor, noticing belatedly that his employer was tightly clutching his hand

His fingers curled back around Viktor's with care, an action that made the silver-haired skater smile with even more joy

"You really gave us a scare there Mr. Katsuki," noted the paramedic, a dark haired man with a charming smile who's name Yuri would have to remember to get later

"If Mr. Nikiforov hadn't found you in time, you probably would have gone up with the house,"

"The house?" Yuri asked urgently, frowning and starting to sit up

"Don't worry, the fire spread slowly, just the basement and half the downstairs, the fire fighters have done an excellent job of quelling it,"

Nodding slowly, Yuri started to lay down again, smiling a little when Viktor reached up with his free hand and cupped his face, stroking his thumb over Yuri's cheek and leaning down to kiss his forehead, murmuring praises and gratitudes under his breath

"Can you tell us what happened Mr. Katsuki? Mr. Nikiforov said he was outside when he smelled smoke,"

"I... don't remember..." Yuri muttered back a moment later

"Ah, well that's ok, hopefully it'll come back to you in time,"

"Hopefully," Yuri agreed as the paramedic turned his attention elsewhere, allowing Yuri to sit up a bit more, reaching out to stroke Viktor's cheek and leaning closer, pressing their heads together

"You saved us," Viktor wispered under his breath

"No... no, you did-"

"Yuri," Viktor interrupted

"I never could have gotten even half-way through that without you.... thank you,"

Without giving Yuri another chance to deny any such thing, he pulled the nanny closer, gently locking their lips together

His head was spinning though, aching, and he couldn't let it last for long, so he pulled away after a moment, though made sure his expression reflected how pleased he was by the affection

As he pulled back though, watching as Rose Manor faded into the distance, he saw something that made his stomach churn

There was a figure standing in the upstairs window, a man's silhouette... very much resembling Michele's....


End file.
